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A dream week in Gaula

First of all the headline contains a lot of sarcasm… We had a nice but fishing wise quiet week on the Gaula ending to midsummers. The bites were few and far between. It was one of those weeks that if I had to market Atlantic salmon fishing to someone it would be a pretty tough job. It was certainly not a trip for a beginner.

All and all the season on the Gaula has been a disaster and the low water levels contributed to the fact that our fishing area on the lower Gaula did not stop the few fish running. So there was a lot empty casts made between bites and. Even the weather which is normally very nice on the Gaula was not cooperating. It was cold and very windy most of the trip. The positive side to the low water levels was that we got most of our action with floating lines and light tips.

The highlights of the trip where, my friends beautiful hen salmon of about 11kg that was safely released and salmon sashimi that we made from a smaller fish. We also had a great crew and a lot of laughs on our week there. I do have to say though that all the other things could not save the trip as it’s all about the fish. The slow fishing and very low returns to the whole river did not leave a positive feel. I am very concerned about the state of that river and hope all the best for it. I just love to fish on that river and it would brake my heart if it’s downward spiral does not come to a stop.

Thanks to everyone and hopefully I’ll be back again on the golden river soon. Additional photo credits to Ilkka Neva and Joonas Saarikko.

Gaula catch statistics and water level at Gaulfossen.

 

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Making simple things from quality materials

You know how nice and easy it is to tie flies from quality materials. They just make things very simple. Now days when I see quality materials that I might have use for somewhere in the near future I buy it right away. Even if I still have some of the old left. Bucktail, saddle hackles and Templedog are always on my shopping list as they are hard to find at highest level of quality and those materials I use a lot. I can tell you that it hasn’t been easy to finding “the good stuff”. Sometimes it feels almost impossible. Thankfully it seems that fly shops are stepping up on this subject. It seems like the quality of the product gets more attention then before and that’s a very, very good thing! Even though many suitable materials for example for my tubes aren’t expensive, I will always put in a few euros more for quality. It pays to do so in the long run.

Quality stuff = fun times at the vise
Quality stuff = fun times at the vise

Now to the subject and enough of the “bitching”… Even though I like to use quality stuff, my fishing flies have become simpler and simpler. Simple flies that move well and have a clean look to them are my thing. Form follows function.

A form that works
A form that works

So does this mean I will throw flies that look like they were tied by a 5-year old? Maybe, but at least I’m using quality materials to make them☺ . I just like to strip out all the non-essential stuff out. I follow a three step “rule” on the flies that I tie:

  1. The fly must have a shape and form that the fish like. That’s rule number one. Even if a fly looks kinda funny to a human eye, it’s the fish that matter.
  2. The fly must be as foul proof as possible. Remember, good proportions and taper makes a big difference in this. So does material choices.
  3. The fly must be tied well no matter how simple the pattern is. That’s a big confidence factor.
A good underwing is the key in making this type of tubes
A good underwing is the key in making this type of tubes
Simple, but still quite beautiful?
Simple, but still quite beautiful?

I’ll be back with some tying instructions on these “Simpleton” flies and maybe even a vid or two.

Ps. If any of you have some ideas on color combos for The Gaula I’m all ears. I’m heading that way in a few weeks. Use the comment form below!

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Searching for the perfect angle…

The more you fish the less you know, right? You can never really know anything when it comes to fish and fishing. The fish are always unpredictable. There are however things that make a difference in catching fish. One of the most important ones is the angle that you present your fly to the fish. This is one of those universal things that is a thing to think about regardless which species you are pursuing. When you start hitting fish at the right angle most other things become trivial.

So what is the perfect angle? Unfortunately I don’t know. I’m going to leave that for the more experienced writers. I can however offer some insights on the subject…

The length and direction of your cast will of course affect how the fish sees your fly. Long cast at a shallow angle will give the fish a pretty straight forward angle to the fly as it swims across the stream. Normally the fish will have plenty of time to react on this type of presentation. A shorter cast with a wider angle will give a much more aggressive angle to the fish with less time to react. A long cast with a wide, or wideish, angle that you make in front and over the fishes “line” and then mend, makes the fly swim, and usually sink, towards the fish and then turn and moves away. That is actually my favourite angle to present my fly to a river fish. In my point of view that is the most natural way to get a reaction, as the fly (bait) swims towards the fish and then turns away and swims from the fish.

Looking for that perfect fishing cast
Looking for that perfect fishing cast

That’s the most effective way to present a fly in saltwater fishing as well. You cast the fly just over the line where the fish is moving and then strip it across and away from the predator. So, casting distance and angle makes a difference on the angle that the fly gets to the fish.

This cast was right on the "sweet spot"
This cast was right on the “sweet spot”

What else? Your line choice affects it, but more than that, the way you position yourself on the river. Positioning yourself correctly makes a big difference in catching fish. Sometimes you have to wade out to get the right angle and sometimes not. Even though unnecessary wading should always be avoided, there are millions of spots around the world that fish better when you get out a bit and get your fly swinging in the right angle. Even though some disagree about this, you can’t compensate your positioning with casting. Sure you can do it a bit, but never enough to fully compensate.

Waded out a bit to get my I/S3 line to swing slowly across the deeper part
Waded out a bit to get my I/S3 line to swing slowly across the deeper part
Positioning myself right on the edge and upstream of where the fish are allows me to have a very precise presentation with a short line
Positioning myself right on the edge and upstream of where the fish are allows me to have a very precise presentation with a short line

So next time when the fish are not biting think about your angles before changing anything else. It might be the reason why the fish are lock mouth.

Tight lines!

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Is summer really that close?

I have spend all my time this spring chasing predators that roam the seas and the up and coming salmon and trout season got me really off guard this time. Even this whole endeavor of having the privilege of writing on this blog really hit me in the face like a 20lb salmon!

Before I can even start thinking about fishing salmon I have to get my stuff together. I have to do a inventory on my flies, have to check that all my lines and tippet materials are in order and make sure my wife hasn’t thrown away my rods when I was out chasing saltwater torpedos.

All I can hope for is that my salmon season will be as successful as my spring chase for other predators.

Stay tuned as I will be back with more on the subject once I get my chit together.

-Japi-

 

We’re proud to introduce a priceless addition to our blogging crew Jari Koski. “Japi” is an experienced fly fishing maniac with extensive experience in both salmon fishing and saltwater fishing. You are going to love his gear reviews, fly tying articles, fishing reports, and maybe some fly casting magic.

-Editorial staff-

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Classic salmon fly show case

Here are some photos of a collection of classic Salmon flies tied by Mr. Toni Kakkuri. Toni is an internationally recognised Finnish fly tier. Unfortunate he doesn’t compete anymore, but he still ties flies for his living.

Back in the days of attending fly tying competitions Toni won a gold medal in the World Championships, two gold medals and three bronze medals in Finnish Championships, and from Irish Open he gained two golds, four silvers and two bronze medals. As an icing in the cake he belongs to the FQSA fly tiers Hall of Fame. In addition to being successful competitor Toni has been judging in the FQSA World Championships of fly tying – the single European ever nominated for a judge position. His web page is at www.kakkuri.fi. Have a look (and use Google translator to encrypt Finnish J).

Enjoy the beauty of the Classic Salmon Flies!

 

 

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Highly confidential

Salmon season is almost on the door in Norway. Here are few very simple, but effective patterns for Atlantic Silvers. This kind of tube flies are very popular here in Scandinavia. Especially in the clear water rivers in northern Norway these flies had done really good job when given a chance to prove their abilities.

This selection is from a fly box of our Editor in Chief, Miki, and he has used similar Monkey winged flies many years with very good success. This sort of flies are really easy to tie. One important aspect with the wing is that it won’t get stuck to the hook so easily despite it’s fairly long and thin. It’s great when you can be certain that the fly is in a good shape all the time. Underwing is tied from bucktail and it’s topped with Monkey hair carefully tied to provide slim and lively construction.

Miki only use plastic tubes with these patterns and if for some reason he has to go deep, or slow down the speed of the fly, he prefers to use sinking lines instead of adding weight to the tube.

In my opinion the key point for successful fishing is speed and presentation of the fly.

Sometimes it is better to use weighed tubes. But if you think what happens during the swing, we actually don’t know what´s exactly going on end of the tippet. We simply don’t have a precise control over the fly but what we can control is the fly line. The fly line is our tool controlling the speed of the fly and that’s why it’s sometimes better to use sinking lines even if the pool is not so deep.

Now you know the big secret. I recommend tying some for the coming season no matter where you’re after Atlantic salmon. Have a great upcoming season and remember – Do the Spey!

Monkey flies from Miki Äikäs. Top secret.
Monkey flies from Miki Äikäs. Top secret.

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River Mörrum early bird

Our sales guy, Tommi, has been having some good time in River Mörrum Sweden the past week or so. Today he reported some fascinating news about a catch of his fishing companion Mr. Mikko Jutila. A fresh salmon measured 112cm was landed today and according to locals it was the earliest salmon catch in 74 years. Amazing! Mörrums Kronolaksfiske has been reporting about a good start in their Facebook pages but we wanted to share some insights about the fly that was chosen by the fish.

The previous day Mikko caught an eye on an old rusty Ullsocken fly in the river bank. Poor Ullsocken, a real Mörrum classic, was in a bad shape and the guys made some funny jokes about anyone who would dare to tie it on the leader. Well, there’s always one in a group who is brave enough to do thing others won’t do. So was in this group and this guy was the only one who hooked a few good sea trout that day and all others didn’t have a pull.

Encouraged by the catches the guys went to a local fly fishing shop to get some tying materials. Not everything they hoped was available so they bought what was in their minds “close enough”. That night Tommi tied a tube fly variation of Ullsocken to his friend. Though, Mikko was pretty much in charge and appointed the materials that must be used in the fly. What the guys didn’t knew yet was, that it would only take ten casts for the first Atlantic salmon catch in Mörrum river in 2014…

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A short Tay report

River Tay, in Scotland, has been very good in this season. Especially in the lower parts of the river salmon catches have been great. The average size has been also quite good. Our Editor in Chief, Miki, visited Lower Kinnaird beat on week 15. Kinnaird Estate is located in the upper part on river system. Water level was very high and water temperature was around six degrees celsius. Conditions were really tough but hey, isn’t it more usual than unusual in salmon fishing?

The lowest pools of river Tummel, Mike´s run and Bridge pool, were having very good water levels and we managed to catch and lose some nice springers. In the photo below you see one of the Tummel´s beautiful springers, caught by Mr. Reijo Ikonen from Finland. The fish was measured 92cm, and was carefully released after posing to our camera man. In the photo above Mr. Teemu Venejärvi is casting on Junction pool, where river Tummel meets the Mighty Tay.

Tummel springer
Photo: Teemu Venejärvi

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Say hi to new website

We have been busy with building our new website for the past few weeks. The next issue is due out in a couple of weeks and putting all the bits and pieces together has been interesting time for all of us at Chasing Silver. In this blog we write about fishing, introduce new products, write reviews, and publish fishing reports. Of course we’ll publish some nice fishing photos too…

One major update is the online shop. There you can subscribe to Chasing Silver magazine and buy old issues. Maybe, later, we’ll add some nice merchandise to the shop. Readers worldwide are welcome to subscribe with the same fixed price of 44.90EUR/year/four issues. We have streamlined our offering and subscribing to Chasing Silver is really straight forward now. We have only one option available which is the auto-renewal subscription for one year. Quite simple 😉 If you’d like to buy old issues we’re happy send those out to you, worldwide.

The brand new digital magazine will be launched when issue 2 / 2014 is out. It’s designed purely for tablets and the reading experience is just great! Plus there’ll be some extra content like videos. Stay tuned, we’ll announce the availability in Apple Appstore, Google Play, and Amazon App store soon.

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